Nets' Ben Simmons has back surgery, is expected to be healthy by next season
Nets guard Ben Simmons looks on before a game between against the Memphis Grizzlies at Barclays Center on Monday, March 4, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Ben Simmons underwent a microscopic partial discectomy on Thursday to “alleviate the nerve impingement in his lower back,” the Nets said in a statement.
Simmons was ruled out for the season on March 7 and played in only 15 games, averaging 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists. The Nets termed the surgery successful and said Simmons is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp next season.
Simmons, 27, had two injury stints this season related to the impingement, also known as a pinched nerve, on the left side of his back.
He missed 38 games after getting hurt on Nov. 6, returned on Jan. 29 and played his last game on Feb. 26 in Memphis. Two days later, Simmons was ruled out ahead of the Nets’ Feb. 29 game against the Hawks because of left leg soreness, which later was determined to be related to the impingement.
Simmons has played only 57 games with the Nets since they traded for him in February 2022.
“I just pray he can come back healthy and whatever God has for him and his rehab,” interim coach Kevin Ollie said after Simmons was shut down. “I want him to have faith that he can come back and be the Ben Simmons we know he can be.”
The surgery was performed by Dr. Timur Urakov in consultation with Dr. Barth Green at UHealth Jackson Memorial Medical Center in Miami, Florida, where Simmons rehabbed last summer.
It’s Simmons’ second back surgery since joining the Nets. In May 2022, he had a microscopic discectomy to treat pain from a herniated disc in his lower back. ESPN reported then that he was expected to rehab for three to four months.
Simmons was available at the start of the 2022-23 season but played only 42 games because of back and knee injuries. The Nets eventually ruled him out for the season because of an impingement in the right side of his back.
Next season is Simmons’ last on the five-year, $170 million contract he signed in July 2019. He’s owed $40.3 million in 2024-25 but hasn’t finished a season healthy since 2020-21, his final season with the 76ers.
“It’s probably one of the most frustrating points in my career just because I wanna be out there and help my team win and compete,” Simmons said in December. “But at the end of the day, it’s one of those things that’s a part of sports. Not every game is promised. Injuries happen.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
